A More Holistic Approach to Diet

During my time working and reporting on the food and drink industries, the debate on sugar is something that I have reported on many times. This was right around the time I began working in this sector. I was finding my feet and getting to know market trends in early 2014, around the same time that Action on Sugar was launched, claiming that we needed a ‘war’ on sugar.

By Daisy Phillipson 

Trawling the various news sites each day, the message became clear. Headlines such as ‘sugar gives you cancer’, ‘sugar is the cause of obesity’ and ‘we need to cut our intake by over half’ abounded. It all seemed somewhat redundant.

I believe any diet with too much of a so-called ‘unhealthy’ ingredient is not good. However, we as consumers, who are in control of what we eat, already know this. Sending out strong messages pinpointing one ingredient only takes away the focus on other unhealthy ingredients. Even if we scrapped the sugar out of everything, we would still be left with trans fats, oils and salt.

What we need instead, rather than being bombarded by media, is a more holistic approach to health. A balanced diet, nutrients, antioxidants, the correct exercise and a little bit of indulgence is the message we should be promoting to the consumer, rather than a quick fix plan.

Nonetheless, these constant and repetitive messages have not gone unnoticed. Big business has begun sourcing alternatives to sugar; for example, Coca Cola produced a carbonated drink sweetened with stevia. According to Emma Clifford, Senior Food Analyst at Mintel, the conversation about the dangers that eating too much sugar can pose to health continued in the media throughout 2014, making many people more vigilant about this ingredient in their diet.

The question nonetheless arises: will this attitude be sustained once the media moves onto the next ‘evil’ ingredient’? More importantly, does this pinpointing of a specific ingredient actually have any effect on health issues?

In 1996, CASH (Consensus Action on Salt and Health) was set up in order to promote the dangers of consuming too much salt, urging the public to reduce their salt intake to an average of 6g per day. What followed was a media scare similar to what we currently see for sugar, claiming a ‘war’ on salt. Consumers were told salt causes heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity. The scale of this outcry was similar to that of the war on sugar, with some still supporting this argument today.

This focus on salt had some affect and many people are now at least aware that they should avoid that extra shake of salt on their dinner plate, and avoid eating too many salty snacks. But how has this helped with obesity and other health issues? In reality, it has not helped much at all. In fact, obesity rates in the US and the UK are higher than ever.

In addition, many publications are now claiming we should ‘end the war on salt’. Nearly five years ago, a large-scale meta-analysis of seven studies found no strong evidence that cutting salt intake reduces the risk for heart attacks, strokes or death in people with normal or high blood pressure.

As an industry, we have the power to provide consumers with the correct information. Rather than bombarding an already confused public with even more conflicting information, I believe we need to provide accurate information and education on how to adopt a holistic and well-balanced diet. Eating your five a day, exercising, lessening red meat and dairy consumption and having the odd indulgence are the messages we should be promoting for a happier and healthier population, rather than isolating one ingredient. The results of doing so will more than likely be a healthier and happier world.